1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a simple and reusable method of planting and containing plants and shrubs that facilitates transplant of said plants and shrubs while minimizing trauma by air pruning the roots.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plants and shrubs cultivated in anticipation of commercial sale have been grown in some type of containing apparatus for several years. The advantages of this are: the ease in transportability to another location since the entire plant, including the roots, are encased in the container; root damage is minimized when the roots are contained in a specific area rather than being pulled or cut out of the ground; the enhanced growth rate and ease in maintenance with such a procedure.
The most common type of these containers is a simple decomposable burlap bag encircling the root bundle within a mass of soil. This encircling occurs after a period of growth in the ground at which time the plant is removed from the ground. At that time it is easy to damage a large portion of the root structure and traumatize the plant. The plant can survive for an extended period of time in this burlapped stage although it is limited by the decomposition rate of the burlap. Also, roots extending through the bag will be destroyed upon transfer of the plant.
Other types of containers have been used to cultivate seedlings or cuttings in order to minimize the amount of root damage upon transplanting. Metal cans with holes in them have been able to reduce spiral root growth to some extent by air pruning roots that directly grow towards the holes but are difficult to remove from the root ball at the time transplantation is to occur and do not specifically direct root growth towards the hole. An example of this is U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,132 issued Feb. 5, 1985.
Other containers have attempted to increase lateral root growth with crevices located on the interior surface of the container to enable the root tips to grow into the crevices and terminate growth thus resulting in root pruning. Examples of these are U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,680 issued Jan. 5, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,628 issued Apr. 17, 1984. These types of containers, although they do reduce spiral root growth, are expensive to manufacture.
By the present invention, a simple and easily removed container is provided for cultivating plants and shrubs that encourages root growth, minimizes root damage during transplantation by air pruning lateral growth root tips, and reduces spiral root growth.